Sonja
Sonja is the daughter of Vampire Elder Viktor and the secret wife of Lucian. She is portrayed in the original Underworld by Jázmin Dammak, and in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans as an adult by Rhona Mitra and as a child by Olivia Taylforth. History Sonja was the daughter of the powerful Vampire Elder, Viktor. Nothing is known of her mother except that she died giving birth. An exceptional warrior and a member of the council, Sonja was being groomed by her father for an eventual position as an Elder (perhaps to replace Marcus in some capacity) before her disgrace, although she seemed very disinterested in the prospect. She fell in love with the lycan slave, Lucian, despite the fact that most of the Vampires looked on members of the slave class as little more than animals. They conceived a child and intended to run away together until they were discovered and captured. She was executed by exposure to sunlight, as her lover was forced to watch. Sonja wore a pendant, which was given to her by her father. After her death, Lucian took that pendent as a keepsake of his lost love. This pendant proved to be vitally important to the events that unfolded in Underworld: Evolution, and eventually went to Michael Corvin, who is presumed to have it still. Her death was a catalyst for Lucian's personal vendetta against the vampires, although the slave rebellion truly started because of a desire from freedom. Notably, Sonja has two different appearances between Underworld and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. In Underworld, she was shown to have blonde hair and green eyes, while Rise of the Lycans showed her with dark brown hair and brown eyes. This was due to their being monetary constraints while producing the first film. The character was written to have darker features, similar to that of Selene. The physical similarity between the two women is meant to be one of the reasons why Viktor spares Selene's life after killing her family. Sonja's memory is kept a secret from Selene and the new coven in general, after the only survivors of the original coven being the Elders (two of whom were asleep at the time and presumably never even met her) and Andreas Tannis. It is possible that Viktor forbade Tannis from ever speaking of her. It also is apparent that even Marcus was never made aware of her existence until he inherited blood memories from Singe, Kraven, and Tannis. (It is unknown if Amelia knew about her.) It remains uncertain why Kraven, who was turned after the massacre, was made privy of the situation involving the Elder's executed daughter, although Kraven tells Selene that he "kept Viktor's secrets" in general (and he may have initially learned about her from Lucian while forming their pact). As a result of all this secrecy, Selene does not learn about Sonja's existence for nearly six-hundred years. It should be noted that in "Underworld," Lucian calls Sonja his "bride," but that there is no other proof that the two were actually married, other than their devotion to each other. Lucian didn't even know that she had been pregnant until only a few hours before her death. Trivia *According to director Len Wiseman, the difference in Sonja's hair color between movies occurred because he waited too long to hire an actress for the part in the original Underworld, and then couldn't find a brunette one. Model Jazmin Dammak was asked to dye her hair darker for the part, but refused to do so unless she was paid more, which the film's small budget could not allow. Wiseman could not even afford a natural-looking wig, so the matter was dropped, and Damak did the scene with light hair. *In the "Rise of the Lycans" commentary, the filmmakers expressed a hope that one day, a special edition of the first film could be released in which the new Sonja's death scene will be edited in, finally putting an end to the blond/brunette issue. *It has been speculated by fans that Michael may have processed Lucian's memories incorrectly, leading to the confusion on Sonja's hair color, as well as changes in clothing and how many witnessed her death. However, this is a theory, and is not directly supported by any canon material. Gallery Image:sonjadeath.JPG|Sonja's death scene in Rise of the Lycans Image:originalsonja.jpg|Sonja as she appeared in Underworld Category:Character Category:Vampire Category:Death Dealer